Smoke detection is important for awareness of fire in its early stages. Conventional point smoke detectors are installed on the ceiling of a room and signal an alarm if smoke of a sufficient density (obscuration level) enters the detector. This configuration is effective in rooms of small size, where smoke transport dynamics play a more limited role in determining the time to alarm. In a large room, however (e.g., a lobby, atrium, or warehouse), the smoke transport time to the detector is relatively long, and extends the time during which the existence or potential existence of a fire is undetected. To address the problem of longer smoke transport time, more smoke detectors can be installed in the space, but this increases the cost of the detection system. As with point detectors, a large room with beam detectors would also require multiple units to obtain acceptable coverage, again providing for a costly detection system.